The Celtic Imram

The ancient Celts told epic stories of voyages across the seven seas in a boat. The destination—to travel uncharted waters, to go beyond the ninth wave, to the golden lands of the Otherworld. The travelers embarked on what they called an Imram. The Imram is an allegory for a soul quest, a spiritual journey, a vision quest.

One famous Imram tale is the heroic legend of Bran the Blessed of Welsh mythology. Bran means Raven in Welsh, and his story is one of regeneration. He is known as the Guardian of Britain. https://bardmythologies.com/the-voyage-of-bran/  

image credit: Diana Morningstar digital arts

Another Imram can be found in my novel, Carry on the Flame: Destiny's Call. Sharay has been committed to a psychiatric hospital by her Aunt Phoebe who wants Sharay's fortune and her magical powers. In this scene, a mysterious elder mento, Dillon Emrys, describes the Imram for Sharay.  

*************

Sharay hiccupped again, wiped her wet cheek on her sleeve.

“What am I to do, Dillon?”

“About the hiccups?” The smile in Dillon’s twinkling eyes reached his lips, his mouth curving into a wide grin.

Sharay rolled her eyes. “No, silly. What am I to do about this?” she said, spreading her arms wide open to indicate the room, the psychiatric hospital.

“Simple. You’re to go on an Imram.”

“On a what?” She leaned back on her legs, and sat on the floor, her spine against the side of Dillon’s bed for support. She was exhausted, and Dillon was talking in riddles.

“On an Imram. It’s an important journey. A physical journey navigated by your soul.”

“My soul will navigate a journey?”

“Yes—it will be both an inner and an outer journey. The Imram is the outward form of an inner mystical journey. It’s much like a vision quest. You’ll travel the land, and as you do, you’ll visit the Inner Realms of your dreams and visions.”

“But the doctors call my dreams and visions hallucinations.”

“They know nothing.” 

Sharay stared, wide-eyed. “I’m not hallucinating?”

“Of course not.”

Sharay noticed how his dimples burrowed deep within the crevices of his cheeks.

“The Imram will be a splendid adventure. Just like it was for our ancestors, the Celts. They crossed the seas on mythic travels to foreign lands. They went on the Imram.”

Sharay imagined huge wooden boats, mermaids carved on the bow, sailing by star navigation across deep blue waters, heading far into the west. She shook her head. “I’m afraid I’m in no shape to go on a sea voyage. I don’t see how your Imram will help me.”

Dillon chuckled. “The Imram is not limited to the sea. It’s not about where you go but how you get there.”

“So, how do I get there?”

“Trust the Imram. You’re in good hands with your soul as your navigator.”

“How can I go on an Imram? I can’t even leave this hospital,” Sharay said desolately.

*************

image credit: boat prow, ocean, guiding star: Diana Morningstar digital arts 

Winter Solstice Blessings

Avebury, England at winter, photo by Chris Turner

Winter Solstice, Yule, December 21, is the longest night of the Wheel of the Year's annual cycle of seasonal festivals. The power of the sun is at is lowest point. But from this day onward, the sun experiences a rebirth, where each day we will begin to see more and more sunlight until we reach the Summer Solstice. In ancient times, the return of the sun meant people could once again plant and harvest food, ensuring their health and longevity. 


Winter Solstice's significance lies in the fact that although everything appears dead, we can remember and celebrate that new life will burst forth come the spring. It is a time of inner preparation for rebirth.

As part of our inner preparation, we can use the Winter Solstice longest night to focus on the power and blessings of darkness. Not the negative connotation of darkness as evil, or even winter's suppression of nature's bounty - but, rather, the richness of the fertile, fecund, gestating earth, and that same dark richness within each of us. This rich darkness holds the divinity in matter, as well as our intuition, our creativity, and all potential. Divine Darkness, according the to the spiritual path of embodied love called 'Adorata', is the Divine Mother in God, the divinity inherent in all physical matter. 

The Earth Mother births the sun/divine son at the Winter Solstice. Legends around the world carry this theme - Isis rebirths her son Horus, Demeter gives birth to her sacred daughter Persephone, Rhiannon gives birth to her sacred son Pryderi. In 336 A.D., to align with the theme of the returning power of light,  Jesus' Nativity was moved to coincide with the Winter Solstice, thus changing his historical birth to December 25th in order to merge Christianity with ancient religious rituals and customs. 

The origins of the Yule Log and Christmas Tree

Oak King and Holly King picture from deafpagancrossroads.com

At Winter Solstice, the ancient Celts lit bon fires with the purpose of driving the cold winter away. They would beckon the Sun God, known as the Oak King, to rise and defeat the long dark winter which is the dominion of the Holly King, thus ensuring that the sun would return to rise and triumph again. When the Norsemen invaded England and brought their Yule Tide traditions with them, the Celts adapted it to their own bon fire ritual and the Yule log was born. Lighting the oak log also gave reverence to the Earth Mother and her wisdom in nature. The Yule log would be lit on the eve of the solstice, using the remains of the log from the previous year, and would be burned for twelve hours for good luck. Today, candles are lit in many religions around the world, in celebration of returning light. 

Our Christmas tree tradition was brought to England and Ireland by the Norsemen who, in their land, would cut boughs of evergreen fir trees and bring them inside to decorate and enliven their homes as a symbol of life amid the death like grip of winter. The fir boughs eventually led to bringing in whole trees that would later be dressed with offerings to their various gods and goddesses, and also items to represent wishes for the coming year, such as an abundant harvest, a marriage, or children.

               Mistle toe and Holly

To the Druids, holly's evergreen nature made it sacred. It was believed Holly remained green to help keep the earth beautiful when the deciduous trees, like the oak, shed their leaves in winter. The holly berries represented the sacred menstrual blood of the Goddess. People would decorate doors and windows with holly to capture any evil spirits before they could enter the house.

In the Celtic language, Mistletoe means 'All Heal'.  Mistletoe was considered so holy that even enemies who happened to meet beneath a Mistletoe in the forest would lay down their weapons, and keep peace until the following day. From this old custom came the practice of suspending Mistletoe over a doorway or in a room as a token of good will and peace, which led to the popular custom of kissing beneath the mistletoe.

         More Christmas traditions roots

Alban Arthuan was a Celtic festival held during the Winter Solstice. Alban Arthuan means 'the Light of Arthur', celebrating King Arthur, who was said to be born on the Winter Solstice.
  
Santa's elves were once the 'nature folk' of ancient Celtic religions. Santa's reindeer were associated with the Celtic Herne, the Horned God of the forest and its animals.


               2012 Solstice is special

We're well aware of the upcoming Shift of the Ages.

December 21, 2012 is predicted to be the onset of the golden era prophesied, among others, by the Hopi Indians, the Maya, as well as the procession of the Astrological Ages. It also marks the end of the Hindu dark ages called the Kali Yuga. It is said we will rise out of degenerate ways into a new consciousness and a new way of being.

Before I learned about all the prophecies, New Age or ancient, I had a vision when I was in my late teens. I always remembered it, although at the time I had no context for it. I sensed and saw this turning of the ages. Not the chaos, turbulence, and destruction which always precedes rebirth. But, rather, a peaceful quality of life possible afterward.

So, at the 2012 longest night, at the end of the epoch of degeneration and turbulence, we can use our inner preparation to choose to align with love and the hope of a promising tomorrow. That is why I write visionary fiction, where the emphasis is on our limitless human potential, and transformation and evolution are entirely possible. (see the newly formed Visionary Fiction Alliance)

That is why my novels offer not only a vision of humanity as we dream it could be, but also some practical tools to get there.

I agree with Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit, who says, “I think I am quite ready for another adventure.”

        +~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
    "Carry on the flame to a new dawn. I am with you."
              ~The Goddess of the Stars and the Sea

              from Carry on the Flame: Destiny's Call

 
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  Winter Solstice Rituals

1. Hang a wreath of holly sprigs on your door for protection from unwanted energies entering your home, and to celebrate the greening power of nature - the 'Veriditas', as named by Hildegard Von Bingen..

2. Place the  gemstone that symbolizes the Winter Solstice, the Red Carnelian, on your altar; or you can simply place it on your kitchen counter or bedroom dresser. Imbue it with your wishes, prayers, and intentions for the upcoming year. Everytime you see your Red Carnelian, or hold it in your hand, you can remember your wishes and feel the power of your intentions.

3. Sit in quiet contemplation of this time of inner preparation and rebirth. Connect with the Divine Mother, the Divine Darkness, within your body. She is the divinity of God in physical matter. Let her love fill you and nourish you so you can meet the demands of this busy holiday season, or of any stressful occurrence in your life. Ask Her to increase your capacity to receive and give love, to create a harmonious balance between the two. Give Divine Mother your thanks.

(Adapted from the Adorata Virtue of Service)

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Some traditions information from Mara Freeman, Celtic Spirituality teacher.

Elizabeth Cunningham, Red Robed Priestess: Interview Part 2

Virtual Book Tour Stop for Red Robed Priestess

Interview by Jodine Turner

This is Part Two of my interview with the wonderful Elizabeth Cunningham, author of Red Robed Priestess, the fourth and final installment in the Maeve Chronicles. You will again also meet with Maeve, the series' main character and Celtic born Mary Magdalen.

In Part One we discovered the complicated relationship between Maeve and Queen Boudica; we learned how the politics of Maeve's time speak to our current world; we were privy to both Maeve and Elizabeth's wit and wisdom; we explored their relationship with Jesus; and for fellow authors - Elizabeth spoke about her inspiration for writing.

I know you will enjoy meeting with Elizabeth and Maeve again, in the continutation of their interview!

8. This question came from my writing group: How did you, Maeve, survive and cope with all of the horrendous, ruthless things that happened to you? Elizabeth  – why does Maeve go through so much suffering?

Maeve—Just like any of us to whom life happens, I didn’t have much choice. As to how I survived and coped, I must give some credit to my eight mothers. They may have spoiled me, lovingly and foolishly deceived me, but I never had any doubt about my worth. I knew I was beloved. That makes a huge difference. I wish I could give everyone the strength that was given to me, the love that was lavished on me. I hope that reading my story does give people an imaginative experience of that kind of rock solid foundation.

For all I had eight mothers, I lacked a human father. When I found him, he turned all his self-hatred on me and tried to destroy me. I am not alone in this experience. And for women who have no loving father, it is hard to imagine one. Along comes King Bran, my foster father, all that a father could and should be. Elizabeth has heard from many women that the passages that describe my relationship with Bran have moved and helped heal them. That is the other key to survival. In a harsh, even ruthless world, open yourself to any kindness that is shown to you. When I was sold into prostitution, the kindness of my fellow whores gave me strength. After I was beaten and left in a cellar in Paulina’s house, a slave whose tongue had been ripped out went out of her way to salve my wounds.
That is how I not only survived but kept my soul intact. Receive kindness and show it!

Elizabeth--Maeve goes through so much suffering, because she is a human being. Her sufferings may seem extreme or exotic in their first century setting. But really, haven’t all or most of known heartbreak, loss, betrayal? People today are still being sold into prostitution. It may not be called by that name, but slavery still exists. Many, many people are exiled and homeless. Maeve is not the only one to have a child taken from her or to have an adolescent child run away. Many people are widowed tragically. And in many places in the world today people know the devastation of war and occupation.

Maeve does have both a hard life and an indomitable spirit. As she says in Magdalen Rising, when we are in the place of no hope, we can call on her and she will be with us. It is very moving to me to know that actual people have done just that. And Maeve has been there for them, not just in her story, but with them in their life.

"In a harsh, even ruthless world, open yourself to any kindness that is shown to you."

9. The combination of hip 21st century language and more ancient language in the novel worked so well. How did you choose to use that writing device? Did anyone along the way tell you to edit it out?

As I said before, she arrived as a 21st century character named Madge, and she always had quite a mouth on her and a very distinctive voice. It made sense to me to stay with that voice and for her to address her remarks to us, her 21st century audience. One of the premises of her story is that no one till now has been ready to hear it the way it really was. She’s been censored, even edited out. (See the deal she makes with Peter in Bright Dark Madonna). The novels were rejected by more than one person because of her in-your-face voice. I finally said to my agent, if that’s the reason for the rejection don’t even bother to tell me, because I am not changing her voice. Even my generally supportive current publisher wanted me to take out The Pentecostal Alley Blues that open Bright Dark Madonna. I refused. You can hear the recorded version of that song and others on my CD MaevenSong.

Also, since I don’t speak Celtic, Latin, Greek or Aramaic, and the English language did not exist in the first century, I saw no point in creating a faux archaic voice. Her voice and her unabashed conscious love of anachronism gave me great freedom and lots of room for humor.

"I finally said to my agent, if that’s the reason for the rejection don’t even bother to tell me, because I am not changing her voice."

10. Elizabeth, what is the form or manner of communication with you and Maeve? (is it dreams, meditations, muse, etc.) How did Maeve first come to you Elizabeth? Maeve, how did you choose Elizabeth to write about you?

Elizabeth--I have mentioned in Part 1 about how Maeve first came to me. We communicate the way any two close friends would. We talk, and sometimes we argue. It was not my intent that Jesus and Maeve would ever marry, and when it looked as though the story was heading in that direction, I said to her, “You can’t get married! You’ll ruin the archetype. We’re working with the holy whore here!” And she said, “What good is an archetype if you can’t explode it. Then it’s no better than a stereotype.” So she won. Although I am done with the writing, I still talk to her. Unlike my other friends, she is right there beside me if I am wakeful at 4:00 in the morning. Someone once said, a bit condescendingly, “Oh, so you have an imaginary friend.” Yes, I do. And i-madge-inary friend. For life.

Maeve—I chose Elizabeth to write about me, because she can write. She is passionate about her craft as a novelist, poet, and songwriter. She does me justice. Don’t get me—or her—started about channeling or automatic writing. That is not what we do. We have a dynamic, creative partnership. Yeah, like she says, we’re friends.

“What good is an archetype if you can’t explode it. Then it’s no better than a stereotype.”

11. Did you have any rejection letters from agents/publishers? How did you deal with them?

Many, many, many, many, many. More than I can possibly remember. How did I deal with them? Rage, cry, drink heavily. But I did not take them personally. I did not doubt the worth of my work.

12. Which is your favorite in the Maeve Chronicle series?

Ah, that is like asking a mother which is her favorite child. Each was my favorite while I was writing it. Last year in preparation for revising Red-Robed Priestess, I read the first three for the first time as a reader (ie not for editing or proofing). I was pleased to find them engaging and…well-written. I will say that when I read The Passion of Mary Magdalen, I was living Maeve’s life so completely it did not feel like reading. I had little sense of words on a page and a book in my hand, I was so inside the story. That is the book I felt I was born to write. I used to worry that I would die before completing it, and have to reincarnate to finish it. Everything I’ve written since then feels like extra credit. That said, I love the last two volumes as much as the first two and believe that with each book I have met new challenges and grown as a writer.

"That is the book I felt I was born to write." (about The Passion of Mary Magdalen)

13. How is it living with this material for 20 years?

It has been wonderful to have this other life with Maeve, to have two sets of memories. Hers are as real to me as my own. I miss writing the story so much, my eyes still well up when I answer that question, as they are right now.  It is less than a year since the daily writing has been completed. I am still bereft as well as relieved and happy to have the whole story out in the world. It means everything to me to know that Maeve is alive and well in other people’s lives and imaginations.

14. What does Maeve say to women and lovers today? And Elizabeth, same question.

Maeve--Hearts are made to be broken, same as the husk of a seed splits for the plant to take root and grow. Risk your heart. Women, love whoever you love, love boldly, wisely, foolishly and never forget or surrender your sovereignty. Give your heart but not your freedom.

Elizabeth—A word of caution. Sometimes the one you love, the way Maeve loves Jesus, is not the one you with whom you share a domestic life or partnership. There are many different kinds of love and ways of loving and being a lover. Don’t get such a fixed idea about love that you miss what’s on offer.

Yes, I add my voice to Maeve’s about sovereignty. One way to keep your sovereignty is have things that you love to do—grow a garden, cook a meal, hike. Do not make your beloved your reason to live; do not make another person your job.

True lovers surrender not to each other but to the mystery.

Maeve-Yes!

"True lovers surrender not to each other but to the mystery."

15. Is there anything about Red Robed Priestess that either of you would like to say…maybe something ‘off the record’, or something not able to be included in the final draft?

Elizabeth-Have tissues ready.

Maeve-Things are not always what they seem then or now. When you are in the midst of sorrow and strife it is hard to see how it is woven into the pattern. Let’s end with a song Elizabeth wrote that is not in any of the books. It’s inspired by a passage from my old nemesis Paul of Tarsus:

All things work together for good
for those who love the mystery
the pain and the bliss
the lovely and the hideous
they are woven into the pattern
they are gathered into the river’s flow.
All things together for good
for those who live the mystery.

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 I invite you to leave a comment below for either Elizabeth or Maeve. They'd love to hear from you!

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Purchase Red Robed Priestess.

To connect with Elizabeth and Maeve: www.passionofmarymagdalen.com Elizabeth and Maeve’s blog Elizabeth and Maeve’s Twitter Maeve’s personal Facebook page Elizabeth’s author page on Facebook www.highvalley.org

Bio:

Elizabeth Cunningham is the author of The Maeve Chronicles, a series of four novels featuring a Celtic Magdalen, including her latest, Red-Robed Priestess. The first three in the series are Magdalen Rising, Passion of Mary Magdalen, and Bright Dark Madonna.

Elizabeth is the direct descendant of nine generations of Episcopal priests. When she was not in church or school, she read fairytales and fantasy novels or wandered in the enchanted wood of an overgrown, abandoned estate next door to the rectory. Her religious background, the magic of fairytales, and the numinous experience of nature continue to inform her work. Cun­ning­ham also authored many indi­vid­ual books as well, such as The Wild Mother; The Return of the God­dess, a Divine Com­edy; How to Spin Gold, a Woman’s Tale; Small Bird, and Wild Mercy, and a recently released album, MaevenSong.

Although Cunningham managed to avoid becoming an Episcopal priest, she graduated from The New Seminary in 1997 and was ordained as an interfaith minister and counselor. Both The Maeve Chronicles and her interfaith ministry express Cunningham’s profound desire to reconcile her Christian roots with her call to explore the divine feminine.

Since her ordination, Cunningham has been in private practice as a counselor and maintains that the reading and writing of novels has been has been as important to this work as her seminary training.

She is also the director of the Center at High Valley where she leads singing and poetry circles as well rituals celebrating the Celtic Cross Quarter Days. The mother of grown children, Cunningham lives with her husband in a sacred grove in New York State’s Hudson Valley.

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Jodine Turner is the author of the visionary fiction Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series, and author of this blog. Her newest novel, Carry on the Flame: Ultimate Magic released December 6, 2011.

Interview with the fabulous Elizabeth Cunningham, author of Red Robed Priestess

Virtual Book Tour Stop for Red Robed Priestess

Interview by Jodine Turner

I am delighted for the opportunity to interview Elizabeth Cunningham about her recently released novel in the Maeve Chronicles, called Red Robed Priestess. Elizabeth is a modern day Celtic Bard whose words flow like milk and honey. When I was reading Red Robed Priestess, my husband asked me why I was smiling. Two reasons – first, each word felt like nourishing soul food; second, there was Maeve’s dry wit, the kind that makes you laugh out loud.

Red Robed Priestess is the fourth and final installment in Maeve’s story, the life of Mary Magdalen. But be advised, Maeve is definitely not your mother’s Mary Magdalen, nor is she the Magdalen we meet in contemporary novels. Maeve is born of eight warrior witches in the Celtic Otherworld. She’s unabashedly honest. And unorthodox as well as fearless. Not so much the kind of fearless that stems from obligation or duty. It’s more the kind that is sourced in her unapologetic authenticity, as well as in her body. Her raw truth both inspires and scares me. Could I ever aspire to stand up for those I love the way she did? I certainly learned from her.

Not surprisingly, Elizabeth’s novel appealed to me, given that my own published novels incorporate Celtic tradition and lore, as well as the themes of embodied love that comes from the sacred union of the divine masculine and divine feminine within. But beyond these similar passions, Elizabeth and Maeve (hard to keep them apart in one sentence) will transport you to other worlds. To the Celtic Otherworld, to Roman occupied Britain, as well as to the world of deep emotion, and the complexity of human relationships. The world of love eternal. Be prepared for a poignant exploration of mother daughter bonds, and how you can find love in the most surprising people and circumstances.

So, here is the interview, Part 1, with both Elizabeth and Maeve, two fascinating and juicy women. As Maeve says in The Passion of Mary Magdalen: "Never apologize for mistaking a woman for a goddess."

For those readers of my blog who are also authors, Elizabeth shares some unique insights into her writing life. Enjoy! (You can read Part 2 of this interview on Friday, December 9).

1. How does the ‘political and emotional complexity’ of Red Robed Priestess speak to our times?                                                                                                                                     

Maeve and the Celts of the British Isles were facing the end of the world as they knew it. I think this realization has come to many peoples in many different times. Born just after the Second World War, I often think of how the world must have looked to Europeans, especially to Jews, as that disaster took shape and spread from country to country.

We are now facing economic, environmental and political upheaval on a global scale. We don’t know how things will play out, but business and life will are not going on as usual, and change is inevitable and imperative. Like Maeve and her combrogos, our courage and character, individually and collectively are being put to the test.

There are differences, too. While the parallels are not exact, the United States today is the Empire in much the way Rome was in its day. In that sense, the peoples of Afghanistan and  Iraq are much more in the position of the Celtic tribes whose land was being occupied by a foreign power.  

                                                  

2. What inspired you for the relationship between Boudica and Maeve?
           
In Magdalen Rising, chronologically the first of The Maeve Chronicles, I hinted at the identity of Maeve’s firstborn child. Those who knew the story of the Boudica, the rebel queen who almost succeeded in destroying the Roman occupation of Britain, picked up that hint, and so I had to follow through in the fourth and final novel. I first heard of Boudica from my rather formidable mother-in-law, who could have led an army herself, no doubt. Born in South America, my mother-in-law claimed descent from Incan royalty. She spiffed up her son’s patrilineage by claiming Queen Boudica (whom she called by Boadicea) as his ancestress. The story of this heroic woman and her tragic fate took hold in my imagination long before I wrote The Maeve Chronicles. If my mother-in-law’s claim is true (big if) I am related to Boudica by marriage as well as through Maeve.

3. Where does your writing inspiration come from?                                                                     

A good question and a hard one to answer. I was raised on stories: Bible stories, fairytales, the Narnia Books by CS Lewis. And I made up stories in my imagination before I could write. As I look back on my work, I can see I have always been seeking to marry things that other people might see as opposed: the human and the wild, the church and the heath, the one god with the many, with the goddess. I believe we are as much chosen by the stories as we choose them. Once you set out to be a storyteller or any kind of an artist, inspiration comes mainly because you show up for the work, day after day, whether you feel inspired or not. Then the Muse takes you seriously—and playfully!

"I believe we are as much chosen by the stories as we choose them."

  

4.  I know you learned a lot from loving Jesus. What is the most important thing you learned from loving him?                                                                                                                 

Maeve-At the risk of being cheeky, (well, I’ve risked that before) I think someone should ask him what he learned from loving me! Much as I’d like to answer that, I’ll stick to the question. I learned patience. I had to wait for him for a long time. No sooner did we find each other than he took off again. I had to learn surrender—not to him, but to the mystery. Like all of us, I had illusions/delusions of control. I thought I could step in and whomp his fate upside the head, change it to my liking. And I couldn’t. I couldn’t change anyone’s fate. And yet within that fate, I also learned we have choice. The choice to be kind, the choice to be brave, the choice to forgive, the choice to share what we have with friends and with enemies.

Elizabeth-I am still learning. Writing The Maeve Chronicles is the way I found to love him, writing from the point of view of an outsider, someone who never was or would be a convert or a follower. Aspects of institutional Christianity and its history can be appalling and yet I am still moved by Jesus, his story, and his affect on people. He is real to me.

"I think someone should ask him (Jesus) what he learned from loving me (Maeve)!"

5. Maeve - What is the most important thing you learned from your time with your warrior witch mothers in the Celtic Otherworld that is important for us today?

My mothers had a now almost famous saying that “a story is true if it’s well told.” They—and my whole chronicles—make the case for poetic truth. In your time many people do not understand story. They take everything—especially the Bible—as literal truth, as fact. They confuse fact with truth. The people who first told the stories in the Bible had no such confusion. They knew that story is a way to connect with the divine mystery. It was the connection that mattered, the meaning. That is why there are four Gospels, not one!

That said, you could also say that my mothers were spin masters. There was an important truth about themselves and what they did, about me and who I am that they omitted and/or prettified. And that omission brought me and others to grief.
People need to think more about intent. My mothers’ intent was good but not very well-thought-out. They wanted to give me a sense of powerful and poetic paternity. And they did. In the end my actual father’s identity merged with that of my mythic father. But my mothers also had a hidden intent, to cover a rash and destructive act of their own.

What any Celt of my time will tell you is: words and stories are magical. They have the power to create and to destroy. People today need to take words more seriously. They need to restore story to its honored place and they need to stop knowingly and cynically repeating lies.

"...words and stories are magical"

6. Elizabeth, what drew you to Magdalen in the first place?                                                           

I did not have an ambition to write about Mary Magdalen, though of course she always intrigued me as she does many people. The character who became Maeve arrived when I had taken a break from writing, appearing first as a line-drawing, evolving quickly into a colorful cartoon character named Madge with fiery-neon orange hair. Soon she needed balloons for all her outrageous theological observations. I was enchanted with her and invited her to be in my next novel. She turned down all my proposals until, noticing the similar letters in Madge and Magdalen coupled with her very red hair, I asked if she would star in a novel about the Celtic Mary Magdalen. That’s the one, she agreed.

Madge, the contemporary incarnation of the character, is an unapologetic prostitute—her solution to an impecunious life in the arts. Although there is no evidence that Mary Magdalen was—or was not—a prostitute, I was intrigued by that perhaps unfounded legend just as others are outraged by it—perhaps because they are outraged by it. To me the Magdalen represents the divine incarnate as a woman. She bears all our cultural and historical projections and assumptions about female sexuality. I did not want to save her from her perhaps undeserved reputation. I wanted to explore the archetype of the whore—but with a twist, for my Magdalen is completely unrepentant!

"She bears all our cultural and historical projections and assumptions about female sexuality."

7. How do you, Elizabeth, integrate Magdalen with the Episcopal theology, with your long line of ancestry in the Episcopal priesthood – or not?

Mary Magdalen is part of Christian story and always has been. Whatever theories anyone has about her background and occupation, in all the Gospels she is a first witness, sometimes the first witness to the Resurrection. My father, as an Episcopal priest, was what is known as “low church” more towards the Protestant end of the spectrum, far from the Anglo-Catholic veneration of saints. So I only heard about Mary Magdalen in the Easter Gospel and the Virgin Mary at Christmas. Women were pretty much missing from the story. I departed from the Church years before I began writing The Maeve Chronicles and became a pagan priestess, though I have no orthodoxy in that realm either. I wrote about that shift in my novel The Return of the Goddess, A Divine Comedy.

As much as I felt at home as an earth-centered pagan, I could never turn my back on my roots. There are Christians who hate and fear pagans and pagans who hate and fear Christians. I could not join either camp. Long before I started The Maeve Chronicles I had a title in my mind that I thought might go with a poem: “A Witch’s Love Song to Christ.” In a way, that is what The Maeve Chronicles are—at least in part. What’s different about The Maeve Chronicles is that they are not his story through her eyes. It’s her story and he happens to be an important part of it. For the last two books he does not appear in person at all.

Theologically, I am very much a celebrant of the Incarnation. I love Jesus because he had feet and walked on the earth. I wanted to write the story of a divine incarnate woman who can walk with us through our own heartbreaking and magnificent experience of incarnation.

The Maeve Chronicles, in part “A Witch’s Love Song to Christ.”

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I invite you to leave a comment below for either Elizabeth or Maeve. They'd love to hear from you!

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Purchase Red Robed Priestess.

To connect with Elizabeth and Maeve:    www.passionofmarymagdalen.com     Elizabeth and Maeve’s blog   Elizabeth and Maeve’s Twitter     Maeve’s personal Facebook page   Elizabeth’s author page on Facebook      www.highvalley.org


Bio:

Elizabeth Cunningham is the author of The Maeve Chronicles, a series of four novels featuring a Celtic Magdalen, including her latest, Red-Robed Priestess. The first three in the series are Magdalen Rising, Passion of Mary Magdalen, and Bright Dark Madonna.

Elizabeth is the direct descendant of nine generations of Episcopal priests. When she was not in church or school, she read fairytales and fantasy novels or wandered in the enchanted wood of an overgrown, abandoned estate next door to the rectory. Her religious background, the magic of fairytales, and the numinous experience of nature continue to inform her work. Cun­ning­ham also authored many indi­vid­ual books as well, such as The Wild Mother; The Return of the God­dess, a Divine Com­edy; How to Spin Gold, a Woman’s Tale; Small Bird, and Wild Mercy, and a recently released album, MaevenSong.

Although Cunningham managed to avoid becoming an Episcopal priest, she graduated from The New Seminary in 1997 and was ordained as an interfaith minister and counselor. Both The Maeve Chronicles and her interfaith ministry express Cunningham’s profound desire to reconcile her Christian roots with her call to explore the divine feminine. 

Since her ordination, Cunningham has been in private practice as a counselor and maintains that the reading and writing of novels has been has been as important to this work as her seminary training.

She is also the director of the Center at High Valley where she leads singing and poetry circles as well rituals celebrating the Celtic Cross Quarter Days. The mother of grown children, Cunningham lives with her husband in a sacred grove in New York State’s Hudson Valley.

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Jodine Turner is the author of the visionary fiction Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series, and author of this blog. Her newest novel, Carry on the Flame: Ultimate Magic releases December 2011.

Visionary Fiction: What is this fiction genre anyway? Part 2

The genre of visionary fiction is a journey of the soul.

I write fantasy, urban fantasy, magical realism, and paranormal romance. But I primarily write visionary fiction. It's not a genre that is as well known as, let's say, urban fantasy. But, it has a loyal following, and it is no longer meshed under fantasy headings. It is distinct and becoming increasingly popular. I want to help readers understand what visionary fiction is about, so I am writing a series of posts about the genre, in several parts. This is Part 2. You can read Part 1 here.

After my incident at the Chalice Well, Anna told me about her Irish born grandmother, Millie. She recounted her last visit with Millie, years ago, the cold and damp winter she turned thirteen – only months before her grandmother died. From her vivid descriptions, I could imagine Anna as a young teenager, almost felt as if I’d been on that visit with her.

Millie had lived in a small village in western Ireland, and owned an old stone cottage with a cozy inglenook. Anna spent many hours beside that hearth, wrapped snugly in a warm wool shawl, watching the flames lick the edges of the sweet smelling peat. Her grandmother would sit on the bench beside her, her craggy face illuminated, her gnarled hands wrapped around a mug of steaming black tea, often with “just a spot” of whiskey added. Anna would snuggle into the protective shoulder of her grandmother, never really minding the cold, because that was the winter her grandmother taught her how to “travel.”

Millie was a natural story teller, what her ancestors might have called a Bard. She regaled Anna with tales that sprang to life in the tiny, fire lit living room. Tales of the mighty heroes of ancient Ireland, the power of the land, and the Tuatha de Danaan, the early Gods and Goddesses of Ireland. Most of her stories had to do with the Celtic Imram.

The Imram was the mythical heroes’ quest, the adventurous travels taken by ship to reach the farthest islands in the western oceans, in search of treasures, healing, or immortality. But Imrams were no ordinary expedition to explore the promises of those distant shores. They were the extraordinary voyage of the soul. The islands the travelers visited were portals to the Otherworld, that numinous place of magic, mysticism, and paradise. Whereas their outer expeditions brought them to the edge of the known physical world, where they had to fight in order to survive, their inner voyage brought them to another sort of edge – one where they had the opportunity to evolve heightened levels of awareness. New spiritual realizations were gained and changes in consciousness occurred.

Through the tales of Anna’s grandmother, I came to see that my experience in Glastonbury was my Imram. And those startling images I’d seen as I sat quietly beside the Chalice Well were my initiation into major shifts in awareness. Several years later, those provocative images eventually married my creative Muse, and birthed the novels that became my Goddess of the Stars and the Sea Visionary Fiction trilogy.

(to be continued in 'Visionary Fiction Part 3',  on Friday)

IMRAM